2020 has started with a bang for Bishop’s Stortford Swimming Club, with the Swim England Hertfordshire County Championships. Only the top swimmers across Hertfordshire are selected for each age event, and BSSC have 57 swimmers heading to Borehamwood to take part in more than 300 individual swims over eight exhilarating days of competition. For some swimmers, this is the first time they are competing at a County level, including Ethan David-Tostevin and Zoe Opiyo, who are competing in 15 events in the 10/11 Yrs age group.
The first weekend of competition kicked off with the 100m Free/Fly/Breast/Back events, the 200m IM and the Male 400m Freestyle. It promised to be an exciting weekend and it did not disappoint! Places in finals and battles for medals came down to hundredths of a second and lengths of fingernails, with swimmers digging deep to be the first to touch that wall. So many swimmers stepped up and achieved Personal Best times and across the first two days of competition BSSC won an amazing 23 age group medals (8 Gold, 9 Silver and 6 Bronze).
The finalists (100m events), top 8 finishers (200/400m events) and medallists were: 
- Women 100m Fly: Gold Jessie Fields (14 Yrs), 5th Grace Mason (14 Yrs) & Jess Penkul (16Yrs/Over), 7th Issy Good (15Yrs)
- Men 100m Back: Gold Alex Catton (16Yrs/Over), Bronze Jago Derrington (14 Yrs), 5th Callum Cox (14Yrs), 6th Ethan David-Tostevin (10/11 Yrs)
- Women 100m Free: Gold Alice Longman (13 Yrs) & Kaia Phillips (14 Yrs), Silver Millie Fields (16Yr/Over), 5thLilian Opiyo (14 Yrs), 6th Zoe Opiyo (10/11 Yrs) & Meisha Trend-Evans (14 Yrs)
- Men 100m Breast: Silver James Gisborne (15 Yrs), Bronze Bryn Couser (16Yrs/Over), 4th Leo Suo-Saunders (12 Yrs), 6th Oliver Gisborne (12 Yrs), 7th Mehdi El Mansar (16Yrs/Over)
- Men 200m IM: Gold Mehdi El Mansar (16 Yrs/Over), 4th James Gisborne (15 Yrs), 7th Oliver Gisborne (12 Yrs)
- Women 200m IM: Gold Kirsty Neill (13 Yrs), Bronze Kaia Phillips (14 Yrs) & Millie Fields (16Yrs/Over)
- Men 100m Fly: Gold Callum Cox (14 Yrs – swimming for his old club Ware), Silver Sami Zemzami (15 Yrs), 4th Callum Davis (16Yrs/Over)
- Women 100m Back: Silver Kaia Phillips (14 Yrs) & Mia Carter (16Yrs/Over), 4th Freya Reilly (15 Yrs)
- Men 100m Free: Silver Callum Cox (14 Yrs) & Sami Zemzami (15 Yrs), 4th James Gisborne (15 Yrs), 5th Leo Suo-Saunders (12 Yrs)
- Women 100m Breast: Silver Kirsty Neill (13 Yrs), Bronze Alice Longman (13 Yrs) & Lauren Gore (14 Yrs)
- Men 400m Free: Gold Sami Zemzami (15 Yrs), Silver Mehdi El Mansar (16 Yrs/Over), 4th Jago Derrington (14 Yrs) & James Gisborne (15 Yrs)
Congratulations to all swimmers for their performances, but especially Ethan and Zoe who reached finals at their very first County Championships! Good luck to everyone for the next 6 days of competition.
Full list of swimmers by age group:
11 years: Ethan David-Tostevin, Zoe Opiyo
12 years: Alexander Filionescu, Alice Lowe, Beau Reilly, Brandon Macdonald-Williams, Catherine Clune, Eliza Andrews, Hannah Robinson, Leo Suo-Saunders, Megan Hull, Oliver Gisborne, Tain Phillips
13 years: Ellen Millar-Bond, George Cooper, George Taylor, Imogen Tang, Jacob Hayes, Alice Longman, George Grimwood, Kirsty Neill
14 years: David Badcock, Elizabeth Clune, Emma Fields, Fergal Barry, Grace Mason, Jago Derrington, Jessica Fields, Kaia 
Phillips, Lauren Gore, Leanne Suo-Saunders, Lilian Opiyo, Meisha Trend-Evans, Miriam Moukdad, Samuel Carter, Sebastian Clark, Callum Cox
15 years: Freya Reilly, Isabella Good, James Gisborne, Laura Hull, Mohamed Zemzami
16Yrs/Over: Alexander Catton, Amy Wright, Bryn Couser, Callum Davis, Callum Harold, Eleanor Mason, Hannah Morgan, Jessica Penkul, Josie Pretious-White, Mehdi El Mansar, Mia Carter, Millie Fields, Nellie Eastland, Nick Botha, Sarah Carroll
